Stanton was an early leader in the women’s rights movement. As a religious skeptic, she and 26 other women embarked an a project of biblical scholarship, seeking to “exonerate the snake, emancipate the woman, and reconstruct a more rational religion.” Other feminist leaders were wary of taking on religion even as they understood it was often used as the basis for female oppression. We will discuss any aspects of Stanton’s life and work of interest to the group.

You can read about Stanton and The Woman’s Bible at the link above, or see Stanton’s autobiography, Eighty Years and More, or the chapter on her life in Annie Laurie Gaylor’s Women Without Superstition.

The purpose of this group is to discuss and advance the work of women secular leaders. A reading or podcast will be selected each month and announced in advance on this page. If you don’t have time to read or hear it, you are still welcome, just know that we will discuss the chosen topic. Are men welcome? Yes. I am not comfortable with excluding anyone except for bad behavior. We have talked about safe spaces, and there may be a need for a woman-only safe space but I don’t have the skills to lead that type of group.